Tactile Collider : an interactive event for the blind and partially sighted

This first-of-a-kind project aims to communicate the science, the excitement and develop an interest in the particle physics, the LHC and the Higgs boson to a large and previously untargeted demographic group. The main target audiences are children (aged 10-18) and adults who are blind and visually impaired (collectively VI), along with their carers and teachers, an audience not considered in established particle and accelerator physics public engagement activities but who make up 2M of the UK's population. As such the project is directly aligned with the government's inclusion agenda and our societal need to reach out to underrepresented demographics. Their unique needs require a new approach to their engagement.

The programme of activities is focused on the LHC and the recent discovery of the Higgs boson and is directly relevant to the particle and accelerator physics agenda of STFC. The timely project follows the high profile success of the Higgs discovery and the Collider exhibition, and will delivered with the specialist skills and experience of the university staff, professional science communicators and specialist organisations. The core of the project is the development of the Tactile Collider event, consisting of a specially designed interactive talk coupled with tactile exhibits based on particle and accelerator physics components and unique audio descriptions. The experience will be related to existing LHC and Higgs talks in scientific content but significantly adapted in terms of delivery to the audience. Specially created tactile components related to detectors and accelerators will be integrated with the talk, and an assistive reader (used by most VI people) and braille brochure developed.This will tour many of sight-related schools in the United Kingdom, and the material will be used in science festival and Pi: Platform for Investigation events. The latter events will also reach the general public, providing education on the unique needs of blind and partially sighted people.

It is anticipated that further public engagement projects for the target audience will grow out of this pioneering project, including a freely available legacy of audience specific training plans, tactile exhibits and event materials. The intention is to deliver the programme of events over an initial two-year period. There will be a post-project legacy of training material, tactile exhibits and event materials, and an international roll-out will be explored with suitable partners. The project leader will continue to deliver Tactile Collider post-project and will make the materials and exhibits freely available to others. There will also be an impact on all future events through VI audience guidelines.